The 2026 NFL Draft is roughly two months away and the NFL Scouting Combine is about to kickoff. Nine former Penn State players received invitations to the combine and will represent the blue and white as they hope to take their careers to the next level.
Penn State was always the answer for offensive lineman Cooper Cousins
Quarterback Drew Allar, the former five-star recruit out of Medina, Ohio, is one of the Nittany Lions who will attend the combine. While his collegiate career left more to be desired out of, he can still compete with quarterbacks in this draft class.
Eric Froton says fans can expect to hear Drew Allar "called by the 5th round" of the NFL Draft
NBC Sports ranked the top eight quarterbacks in this draft cycle. Allar didn't make it into the top four, which is expected given his abbreviated senior season that ended due to a broken ankle halfway through Big Ten play.
Eric Froton ranked Allar fifth in the group, stating he enters the draft as "one of the more physically developed passers in the class, pairing prototype size with steadily improving efficiency inside a pro-style structure."
If Allar had the coach he needed in college, he could have been morphed into the quarterback everyone at Penn State expected and wanted him to be. That wasn't the case, and now even as he transitions into his pro career, there's a lot of untapped potential teams have to wonder about.
"When able to operate with a clean pocket, he delivered an 81.9 passing grade with 8.9 yards per attempt and 22 touchdowns, underscoring the rhythm distributor traits. His turnover-worthy play rate has remained manageable (around 2.1%), reflecting a quarterback who is aggressive but not reckless," Froton wrote.
"Allar’s main limitation is his clunkiness through his route progressions, and tendency to get frazzled when the pocket gets muddied. The Penn State signal caller’s arm strength is capable, but his ability to stay composed and consistently make good decisions trump his arm-based evaluation."
Allar has the physical traits needed to be a quarterback at a high level. That's evident based on his abilities when everything around him is going his way. Froton anticipates him being drafted by the fifth round, and while that's much lower than expected before the 2025 season started, it's a good spot for Allar to be considering what he still has yet to showcase four years later.
Ranking above him were Carson Beck (No. 4), Garrett Nussmeier (No. 3), Ty Simpson (No. 2), and Fernando Mendoza (No. 1). These are the expected top four spots. If Allar's senior season went differently and was what everyone expected out of Penn State in general, he could've made an argument to be a top three quarterback in this draft class. No. 5 is a generous spot based on hope for what Allar can be.
Froton ranked Cade Klubnik sixth, Cole Payton seventh, Diego Pavia eighth, Taylen Green ninth, Sawyer Robertson 10th, Luke Altmyer 11th, Jalon Daniels 12th, Mark Gronowski 13th, Behren Morton 14th, and Joe Fagnano 15th.
This quarterback class doesn't have depth, and Allar should be thankful for that. He wouldn't be a top five quarterback if this group was strong from top to bottom.